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Memorial Ride
Memorial Ride is a high-speed, ragtag chase across the American Southwest. Cooper Town, an American Indian soldier, has returned from the Middle East to attend his father's funeral, make some quick cash off his father's old Harley, and spend a whirlwind weekend with his girlfriend, Sheri Mun. However, when Coop runs afoul of the violent John Wayne gang, he and Sheri Mun have no choice but to twist the throttle back on that storied chopper and make tracks. In the spirit of Billy Jean, but fully aware of Billy Jack, Coop and Sheri Mun's race to survive is full speed ahead with many potholes in their path. Turning the traditional Western on its head, Memorial Ride recasts the genre as a road movie. It's raucous, it's violent, and, scarily enough, it might even be true. In short, this graphic novel delivers the storytelling prowess of Stephen Graham Jones through Maria Wolf's artwork, and the result is a ride you'll want to take again and again.
112 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2021
3 people are currently reading
2166 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Graham Jones
236 books15.1k followersStephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author thirty-five or so books. He really likes werewolves and slashers. Favorite novels change daily, but Valis and Love Medicine and Lonesome Dove and It and The Things They Carried are all usually up there somewhere. Stephen lives in Boulder, Colorado. It's a big change from the West Texas he grew up in.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 7, 2021
Read this in a weird McDonald’s while my ride was in the shop. It’s about 100 pages in length, so easy to consume in just under two hours. I took my time as I appreciate Maria Wolf’s artwork so much whether it’s black and white or colored in.
This is quite the story, and I freakin’ love SGJ in comic format. He’s got such a command of dialogue, in my opinion—all felt so real, like I was listening in. I won’t share much but if you’re Native or down with Native art, you’ll have so much fun with this. I laughed out loud at some jokes and felt the pain in some lines.
Get this from University of New Mexico Press today. I’d call it a must-read graphic novel. Support that press, support Red Planet Comics, support Lee Francis, support Maria Wolf, and support Stephen Graham Jones. You’d be missing out if you didn’t.
This is quite the story, and I freakin’ love SGJ in comic format. He’s got such a command of dialogue, in my opinion—all felt so real, like I was listening in. I won’t share much but if you’re Native or down with Native art, you’ll have so much fun with this. I laughed out loud at some jokes and felt the pain in some lines.
Get this from University of New Mexico Press today. I’d call it a must-read graphic novel. Support that press, support Red Planet Comics, support Lee Francis, support Maria Wolf, and support Stephen Graham Jones. You’d be missing out if you didn’t.
December 8, 2021
Memorial Ride is a rollicking read.
After the death of his father, Cooper Town returns home to settle his affairs. He finds his girlfriend pregnant, and a last request waiting to be fulfilled. Cooper has only a few days to take his father's bike from Montana down to Texas to sell it to make some quick cash. On the way, he runs afoul of the John Wayne Gang. What follows is a series of high speed chases and potholes, gunfire, and mischief. It's all told through Maria Wolf's compelling artwork. Man, the action isn't to be missed.
This was a fun, quick read. It has all of Stephen Graham Jones's traditional wit and outright cruelty. There were pages that made me wince while I read, but the next line I'd find myself laughing. It's hardhitting, sure, but it's also just sheer fun. Take a peek at it if you can find it in your local library or similar - this is a press I'd love to read more from in the near future.
After the death of his father, Cooper Town returns home to settle his affairs. He finds his girlfriend pregnant, and a last request waiting to be fulfilled. Cooper has only a few days to take his father's bike from Montana down to Texas to sell it to make some quick cash. On the way, he runs afoul of the John Wayne Gang. What follows is a series of high speed chases and potholes, gunfire, and mischief. It's all told through Maria Wolf's compelling artwork. Man, the action isn't to be missed.
This was a fun, quick read. It has all of Stephen Graham Jones's traditional wit and outright cruelty. There were pages that made me wince while I read, but the next line I'd find myself laughing. It's hardhitting, sure, but it's also just sheer fun. Take a peek at it if you can find it in your local library or similar - this is a press I'd love to read more from in the near future.
November 9, 2021
A balls to the wall- Native American chase story.
John Wayne does not win in this Duelesque-comic book, and I loved it.
Short summary:
Cooper Town is a soldier who comes home to bury his estranged father when he and his girlfriend Sheri Mun witness a drugstore heist committed by a group of psychopaths dubbed ‘The John Waynes’. They narrowly make their escape, but the group of criminals are not about to let things end there, and so the chase begins.
John Wayne does not win in this Duelesque-comic book, and I loved it.
Short summary:
Cooper Town is a soldier who comes home to bury his estranged father when he and his girlfriend Sheri Mun witness a drugstore heist committed by a group of psychopaths dubbed ‘The John Waynes’. They narrowly make their escape, but the group of criminals are not about to let things end there, and so the chase begins.
November 29, 2021
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway. It is a very good read.
December 11, 2021
A fast and nail biting story, a American Indian returns home for his fathers funeral but it goes south. His father left him a Harley with instruction take to this person and you will received three thousand dollars. Upon his travels runs into his girlfriend and a robbery happening. Things have gone so wrong. They are after him and all he can think
I can’t be awol.
I can’t be awol.
January 19, 2022
I finished this book about a month ago but have a hard time trying to write an adequate enough review to do Memorial Ride justice. It is a thrill ride, a kind of road story with the one-two punch of a Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration but with further depth of character.
The story's main character is Cooper Town, a Native American soldier who's sent home from his Afghanistan deployment to attend his estranged father's funeral. On top of this, Cooper is also facing serious charges for assaulting a lieutenant once he returns to the Middle East so he wants to make the most of this weekend of freedom before facing an uncertain future. The plan is to sell his pop's Harley and spend some time with his girlfriend Sheri Mun. However, Cooper's plans quickly go downhill after an incident with a nutty group of bandits at a convenience store and that's when everything goes full throttle all the way until the end.
I don't want to get too far into the rest of the story because I found going in blind made it that much more exhilarating.
What really kept me glued to the page was Cooper. He's an active duty member dealing with racist coworkers, struggling with his war experiences (just as his father did), trying to sort out his personal life, and coming to terms with his father's death. Watching this character transition from everyday hero to hellbent bad ass was a joy to read. Maria Wolf's artwork really complements Jones's story and I'm excited to see more of Red Planet Books in the future.
Gunfights, motorcycle chases, love on the run, and a veteran leading the way. The kind of stuff dreams are made of.
Thank you so very much to the University of Mexico Press, who listed Memorial Ride for the Goodreads giveaway, and for sending me this wonderful book.
The story's main character is Cooper Town, a Native American soldier who's sent home from his Afghanistan deployment to attend his estranged father's funeral. On top of this, Cooper is also facing serious charges for assaulting a lieutenant once he returns to the Middle East so he wants to make the most of this weekend of freedom before facing an uncertain future. The plan is to sell his pop's Harley and spend some time with his girlfriend Sheri Mun. However, Cooper's plans quickly go downhill after an incident with a nutty group of bandits at a convenience store and that's when everything goes full throttle all the way until the end.
I don't want to get too far into the rest of the story because I found going in blind made it that much more exhilarating.
What really kept me glued to the page was Cooper. He's an active duty member dealing with racist coworkers, struggling with his war experiences (just as his father did), trying to sort out his personal life, and coming to terms with his father's death. Watching this character transition from everyday hero to hellbent bad ass was a joy to read. Maria Wolf's artwork really complements Jones's story and I'm excited to see more of Red Planet Books in the future.
Gunfights, motorcycle chases, love on the run, and a veteran leading the way. The kind of stuff dreams are made of.
Thank you so very much to the University of Mexico Press, who listed Memorial Ride for the Goodreads giveaway, and for sending me this wonderful book.
March 19, 2025
This has been my third of four reads from Stephen Graham Jones now. Of course, this one is pretty unique in the fact that it’s his only graphic novel. The others I have read from him so far are Night of the Mannequins, The Only Good Indians, and Mongrels. All of those were 5 star reads for me and some of my favorite books. Jones does horror so well, but also humor and a great mix of the two. His are some of the creepiest books I have ever read, with great plot twists and atmosphere.
This one felt a little off for me, I think largely because I am a big comic fan and read a lot of them and there is a fine balance in incorporating a movement of continuity across your panels and story. When done at it’s best, reading a graphic novel can be like watching a tv show. You go from one panel to the next with a flow that isn’t interrupted. Or, if it is interrupted, there is an artistic reason behind it that adds to the overall feel and communication of the story. Storytelling through a comic is a very different thing than through a novel. I happen to love both for different reasons. The art in this graphic novel had a cool sort of gritty feel to it that suited the story well. My main issue was just that the story could have felt more cohesive and fluid. It was really more about the formatting and I think some of the plot points here could potentially be more interesting and fleshed out to me if done in a prosaic format instead. But again, it’s his first graphic novel and I will read anything Stephen Graham Jones writes.
This one felt a little off for me, I think largely because I am a big comic fan and read a lot of them and there is a fine balance in incorporating a movement of continuity across your panels and story. When done at it’s best, reading a graphic novel can be like watching a tv show. You go from one panel to the next with a flow that isn’t interrupted. Or, if it is interrupted, there is an artistic reason behind it that adds to the overall feel and communication of the story. Storytelling through a comic is a very different thing than through a novel. I happen to love both for different reasons. The art in this graphic novel had a cool sort of gritty feel to it that suited the story well. My main issue was just that the story could have felt more cohesive and fluid. It was really more about the formatting and I think some of the plot points here could potentially be more interesting and fleshed out to me if done in a prosaic format instead. But again, it’s his first graphic novel and I will read anything Stephen Graham Jones writes.
January 3, 2022
Stephen Graham Jones just knows how to tell weird stories. :) This one was no exception. I was hooked at the beginning trying to figure out who our main character would be and where we were going. It started off in an airplane with a few guys leaving their deployments early for various reasons. We soon learn that Cooper Town (yes, that's his name) is leaving because his father has passed away. He doesn't seem upset about it, and the rest of the book we find out why. We actually spend the rest of the book following Cooper as he takes his father's motorcycle down to New Mexico to sell it to one of his father's old friends. In that small, simple sounding plot, Jones manages to take us on quite an adventure and I had only a few moments of cringing at the violence or turning the page back to make sure I had actually read what I thought I read. One more great addition to the ever-growing stack of great books by Stephen Graham Jones.
November 27, 2024
I like the idea behind Red Planet Books and I'll probably keep reading them, but this one was too disjointed for me. The story was hard to make sense of in places. The illustrations are odd also. I couldn't necessarily tell who was who in the first scene when they're teasing each other about their skin colors.
I guess I also wanted more literal Native American experience, less over-the-top, improbable ultraviolence. But maybe that is supposed to highlight how the world actually feels to be a Native American - paranoid that the world is out to take everything from you. Maybe that's a legitimate cultural PTSD worldview. Hmm.
Recommended for fans of Stephen Wright's Going Native, another violent road novel.
I guess I also wanted more literal Native American experience, less over-the-top, improbable ultraviolence. But maybe that is supposed to highlight how the world actually feels to be a Native American - paranoid that the world is out to take everything from you. Maybe that's a legitimate cultural PTSD worldview. Hmm.
Recommended for fans of Stephen Wright's Going Native, another violent road novel.
November 28, 2025
One of the things I like about SGJ is that his books take some DNA from his previous work. Reading this one right after Killer on the Road, gave me a sense that these two were related, like he wasn’t quite done talking about being on the road. I like the way this story flows. It has the vibe of a Western, complete with a gang of bandits, but it also feels wholly modern — with a motorcycle instead of a horse. It’s a nice twist on the Bildungsroman. It’s a must-read for fans of SGJ’s more literary work.
July 28, 2023
Stephen Graham Jones has a wild, funny, and sometimes cruel imagination. It's all shown off in Memorial Ride, and I'm here for it. This is the first comic I've read of his, and while I prefer his novels, novellas and short stories, this was still a lot of fun. And also, it being his first comic, shows a lot of potential for mastering the comics craft in the future.
If you like motorcycles, heists, car chases, airplane adventures, and SGJ's wild imagination, then check this out!
If you like motorcycles, heists, car chases, airplane adventures, and SGJ's wild imagination, then check this out!
June 4, 2022
A breakneck graphic novel about coming to terms with fatherhood and losing a father all at once, military service and the repercussions of trauma, crazed doctors and riding a motorcycle across the country. The lack of color in this graphic novel made some of the action difficult to follow, but overall I really enjoyed the character development of the lead character.
Read
August 1, 2025I was not in the right frame of mind to keep up with this frenetically-paced story. I just keep thinking of the beginning of The Princess Bride when Grandpa is talking about all the things in that story. This one was escapes. Chases, escapes. More chases, and more escapes. And more chases. Until it was over. Phew.
June 2, 2022
A fast paced, high speed chase across the southwest. The hero of the story is home on leave for his father’s funeral. But when he and his girlfriend stumble into a drug store robbery, they’ll have to run like hell to survive.
January 20, 2022
Fun, fucked up, and brutal. I'm really starting to love Stephen Graham Jones.
February 25, 2022
3.75/5
November 18, 2022
This was interesting and all over the place but I’ll read almost anything by SGJ! A wild ride for sure!
January 20, 2023
I love SGJ.
February 10, 2023
Goddamn.
February 25, 2024
Format: physical book from lib
Heard about it : I'm working through all books by Stephen Graham Jones
Rating : 3
This is a fast pace story and very interesting ! the art work is AMAZING !
Heard about it : I'm working through all books by Stephen Graham Jones
Rating : 3
This is a fast pace story and very interesting ! the art work is AMAZING !
February 13, 2025
Not my favorite. The art style was hard to look at for me personally and it felt like maybe a comic wasn’t the best format for the story
February 20, 2022
2.5 stars: 3 for the art; 2 for the story. This is my first story by Stephen Graham Jones; it's got a good twist, but I found the story just okay.
April 20, 2024
A soldier returns home from war to bury his father, and gets on the bad side of a gang of bad guys, who hunt him down. This is a wildly inconsistent book. It alternates between riveting and incomprehensible. The black and white art can be dynamic or impossible to follow. The story is solid, if a little scatter shot, but people keep finding each other in the middle of nowhere with no explanation. It honestly feels like a first draft. On the plus, it is a ridiculous revenge action comic with native artists dealing with native issues, and a plot straight out of 80's Hollywood. Nothing from SGJ is bad, this was just a little undercooked, IMO.
January 3, 2022
So I normally love this author...but this one just didn't resonate with me. It had violence and twists and turns, the sadness of folks who just can't catch a break, evil villains, and a little bit of out-there craziness for good measure - all of which I usually enjoy. Then again, I can't say I am a big fan of graphic novels, so maybe that's why it just didn't click for me. It was free (I won it here in a Goodreads giveaway), and it was fun, so I'm not complainin'!
**Comment added 1/3/2022: Ok so I'm reading My Heart is a Chainsaw and it dawned on me what I was missing in this graphic novel - the author's style of writing, the way he describes people and places and feelings! I REALLY like his writing! Mystery solved as to why this one didn't resonate with me.
**Comment added 1/3/2022: Ok so I'm reading My Heart is a Chainsaw and it dawned on me what I was missing in this graphic novel - the author's style of writing, the way he describes people and places and feelings! I REALLY like his writing! Mystery solved as to why this one didn't resonate with me.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews